Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 47

Hello! I hope everyone is having a good week. This week is flying by for me, as my husband had Monday off for our anniversary, so Tuesday feels like Monday and so on. Anyway, great news today is that I can actually get to all of your WIPW posts. I'm so sorry for last week. I wasn't able to visit all WIPW and FO Friday posts. Life got in the way. This week and next, I don't have to watch my nieces, so that won't happen. Thanks to all of you who continually post for WIPW/FO Friday. I can't believe we're up to 60+ people on Wednesdays. That's maddening!

Thanks to the kind comment about the new Candy Skein Delicious lace yarn. This coming week, I'll have a few more skeins of it, along with two skeins of Yummy lace. I've also ordered a whole box of sock yarn (75% merino/25% nylon) and a box of fingering weight Delicious yarn (70% baby alpaca, 20% silk, 10% cashmere) which should arrive at my house July 5th. Looks like I'll be busy in the dyeing factory the next few weeks!

I should get on with WIPW 47 (can you believe that? FORTY-SEVEN!!!)



Not much going on for me as far as WIPs that I'm actively working on. The socks have been pushed aside for The Age of Brass and Steam shawlette I've been working on. This isn't a great pic, but that's on purpose. You see, I'm only a few rows from finishing/blocking and don't want to show it all spread out before Friday (let's hope it dries in time!) I'm a little nervous on the blocking front, as I have yet to do it. Any tips/tricks? This is 100% merino superwash, and is Candy Skein DK in Ripening Blueberry.

Well, that's all for today from me. After all, I did just start this shawlette last Monday evening (pretty much Tuesday since Monday night I didn't get much past the first few rows once I learned how to knit/pick up the garter tab). I have to have more exciting stuff to share next week! I hope everyone has a great Wednesday and Thursday and I'll see you on Friday!

Please remember to use the new link to your post from this week, overriding the one that Mr. Linky saves from the previous. I've had quite a few links still linking to their old posts, or links that go straight to their blog's URL instead of the actual posts URL. Thanks!

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!


Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Candy Skein- Delicious Lace Now Available


Hi everyone! This is going to be quick, as I'm sitting in a Starbucks writing this as my lovely husband waits for me to finish. We ended up heading to Los Angeles to hang out for our anniversary and decided to stay an extra day. I also want the new beautiful Delicious yarn to speak for itself. I must say, this dyed up more beautiful than I ever would have imagined. It literally SHINES. I have a few more skeins of it left, which I'll be dyeing this coming week, as well as two skeins of Yummy Lace that will both be up next Monday on the site and Tuesday on the blog. Anyway, enough rambling...I bring you, Candy Skein's Delicious Lace.







Colorway: Blueberry Cheesecake
Series:
Delicious
Fiber content:
70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight:
Lace Weight
Yardage:
875 yards
Unit Weight:
100 grams
Care:
Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $32
Quantity Available: 2 (NOT from the same dye lot)
BUY







Colorway: Mulberry
Series:
Delicious
Fiber content:
70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight:
Lace Weight
Yardage:
875 yards
Unit Weight:
100 grams
Care:
Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $32
Quantity Available: 2 (from same dye lot)
BUY








Colorway: Blackberry
Series:
Delicious
Fiber content:
70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight:
Lace Weight
Yardage:
875 yards
Unit Weight:
100 grams
Care:
Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $32
Quantity Available: 1
BUY







Colorway: Lemon Lime
Series:
Delicious
Fiber content:
70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, 10% Cashmere
Weight:
Lace Weight
Yardage:
875 yards
Unit Weight:
100 grams
Care:
Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $32
Quantity Available: 1
BUY

Friday, June 24, 2011

FO Friday 40


Happy Friday! This is going to be short and sweet, as my computer's battery is dying and I'm not around a plug. Unfortunately, I don't have a FO this week, as I've been too busy dyeing yarn! I can't can't can't (yes, three can'ts) wait to share the new Delicious series yarn in lace weight. It's freakin' amazing. The colors took beautifully to it, and it almost has a silver sheen.

I wanted to share two amazing Candy Skein reviews done by the fabulous Kathryn (you all know her as CrochetBlogger). She has started two new series on her blog. One for yarn she's using, and also yarn store reviews. Both reviews are very thorough of her whole experience with the yarn and the shop itself. Thank you again, Kathryn!

Yarn I'm Using: Candy Skein's Raspberry Sorbet
Yarn Sellers: Candy Skein Yarn

I hope everyone has a great weekend! It's our 4 year wedding anniversary, so we'll be going out to dinner or somewhere fun I'm sure!


Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 46

Hi there, all! This week is a good one for me at the Candy Skein workshop, because as I write this, I'm staring at 10 skeins of un-dyed gorgeousness (is that a word?). That's right, be jealous. Honestly, I should be the jealous one, as I will only be keeping one of these skeins, if any at all, the way my Monday night knitting group wants to snap them up before they're even out of the packaging. I figured, I'd share the awesomeness that is the new Delicious yarn from Candy Skein. I hope to have this all dyed up by Monday, to share with you on Tuesday. If you have no clue what I'm rambling about, check out my post from yesterday and the exciting Candy Skein news!

This is how I get them from my supplier! Very cool, isn't it?

Okay, now on to WIPW for real now that I've shared the pretty fiber.





I shared my cowl that I had just started last week, and as you can see, I've worked on it but not as much as I had hoped. I was cranking on it, but then my next project caught my attention. This cowl is a very fun, easy, yet can get boring pattern. It's the Pedestrian Crossing Cowl on Ravelry and is a free pattern. Once I memorized the one difficult row, I breezed along. I will say, I didn't realize how it was pooling until I just uploaded this picture! Very cool! Anyway, I had to stop working on it and put the stoppers on the end of my interchangeable needle cable due to the fact that I only have one size 8 circular needle...And that brings me to my next project.





For those of you who checked out FO Friday this past week, you may remember that I cheated a little and actually shared a ball of yarn that I dyed this past week for myself instead of a finished project (I guess it IS called Finished OBJECT, not Finished Project luckily). Anyway, since I had no clue how this yarn would turn out due to how I dyed it, I, as I mentioned, kept it for myself. I decided on The Age of Brass and Steam for the pattern to use with this ball of DK yarn. Since this is my first shawl-like project (it's smaller so I guess more of a shawlette or kerchief?), I needed a little help starting from my Monday night knitting group. Because they are awesome, I had no problems and actually learned a few tricks along the way! I must say, I'm quite proud of my progress and how the yarn is turning out. I can't wait to get to the first major color change. As you can see, each color (as demonstrated in the light blue so far) has a little of the other two in it to tie it all together. Cool, right? I can't stop working on this project, I have to admit.

The great news (at least for my cowl) is that I ordered a set of Knit Picks Zephyr needles this week, as they have them $10 off the set. I really want the Harmony set, but unfortunately can't afford them right now, as almost every penny I have to my name is going into Candy Skein right now (as you can see from the pics above of the 10 skeins of butter soft yarn). I thought $30 was a steal for a whole set! I should have the set on Thursday, and can work on both projects at the same time again. YAY for packages in the mail!

Anyway, that's it for me this Wednesday. Please remember to use the new link to your post from this week, overriding the one that Mr. Linky saves from the previous. I've had quite a few links still linking to their old posts, or links that go straight to their blog's URL instead of the actual posts URL. Thanks!

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!



Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Candy Skein- New Yarn & Exciting News!

Hi there everyone! I hope you had a fabulous weekend. We hung out a lot and saw Super 8 WHICH WE LOVED!!!! It took me back to my 80's childhood, and felt so much like a Goonies/Stand By Me/Close Encounters type. I think it's the best movie I've seen all year and can't wait until I can see it again. I also made a stop to one of my LYS, which was having a sale. That's right, A SALE! I got two skeins of Ella Rae Lace for 40% off. What a steal, right? I have no clue what I'm going to do with it, but that's the fun of it, right?

This week, I have a mishmash of skeins, instead of just one weight. A skein of fingering in a beautiful dark red with splashes of vibrate red, a fun speckled redish pink skein of DK and two skeins of the same dye lot in the fun blues, pinks and purples of Party Punch. Sure, I'm excited about those, but what I'm really really excited for is what I have in store next week...

You may have noticed a change to the Candy Skein website if you've been there the last 24 hours. That's because I have gotten ready for the arrival of a new blend of yarn! That means I had to name what we currently had in stock, the 100% merinos (20% nylon for the fingering), the Yummy series! Those of you who have already bought Candy Skein yarn, have purchased the Yummy series of yarns. It is more of the workhorse yarns, used for any pattern and most are superwash.

Next week, I will have a new lace weight in the shop that is TO DIE FOR! It will be in my new series of higher end blend yarns called Delicious. The Delicious series will be for those special projects and gifts that are amazingly soft and buttery. They are NOT superwash.

The new yarn next week is a lace weight, 70% baby alpaca, 20% silk and 10% cashmere. Yum, right? I got samples of everything my yarn supplier currently carries, and I instantly fell in love with this one, so much so that I had to buy it right away. It's supposed to be delivered today, and can't wait to get it into the dye pot. Be sure to check the blog and Candy Skein website (they will be up Monday afternoon, Tuesday morning on the blog) next week if you're interested in seeing this amazing yarn. It's so great, I've already resigned myself to the fact that I will be keeping a skein of it myself. Any color recommendation/suggestions you'd like to see with it? It has 875 yards and is buttery soft with a great twist.

I'm really looking to expand Candy Skein to offer more variety. I want to thank everyone again who has purchased Candy Skein yarn so far, as you have made it possible for me to bring you the best product I can.

Anyway, enough about next week, on to the great yarn this week!





Colorway: Black Cherry
Fiber content:
75% Merino Wool, 25% Nylon Superwash
Weight:
Fingering Weight
Yardage:
462 yards
Unit Weight:
100 grams
Care:
Machine wash/Tumble dry low

Price:
$16
Quantity Available: 1
Available at Candy Skein



Colorway: Strawberry
Fiber content: 100% Merino Wool Superwash
Weight: DK weight
Yardage: 246 yards
Unit Weight: 100 grams
Care: Machine Wash/Tumble Dry Low

Price: $14
Quantity Available: 1
Available at Candy Skein





Colorway: Party Punch
Fiber content:
100% Merino Wool Superwash
Weight:
Chunky/10 ply
Yardage:
137 yards
Unit Weight:
100 grams
Care:
Machine Wash/Tumble Dry Low Price: $14
Quantity Available: 2 (from the same dye lot)
Available at Candy Skein

Friday, June 17, 2011

FO Friday 39



Happy Friday everyone! I must say, I'm very excited that it's Friday because the weekend is rolling around. Funny enough, since I started Candy Skein, I pretty much work 7 days a week on it, so it's not like I get it off. The nice part is I get to spend time with my husband, so that makes the weekends special. This weekend we don't have too much planned. We were going to go to the San Diego Fair (which is epic each year), but we're still tired from last weekend's craziness so will probably skip it and wait until the next weekend. We're still waiting for summer like weather here in San Diego, so the beach might be out as well. We'll see. Maybe a movie? Has anyone seen Super 8 yet?

Okay, enough about weekend plans. Unfotunately, I've stretched myself too thin recently on the knitting WIPs, so I have nothing to share today that is of the actual knitted related BUT, I wanted to share this. Is sharing a skein of newly dyed yarn cheating as a FO?



Now, as you probably know if you follow this blog each week, I normally only post Candy Skein yarn on Tuesdays. Why is this one different? Well, it was an experiment with long color changes, as well as going from light to dark of the same color. I'm really happy with the results and am keeping this skein myself. What do you think? Is it a nay or yay? I'm thinking I could start a series of colorways like this if it knits up nicely. Each color change is the same length (roughly, as I split the skein by weighing the yarn with each change), and each color is in the other two, as you can see some darker spots in the lights and lighter spots in the dark. I had a great time dyeing this!

It's a DK weight, and I named it Ripening Blueberry. I think I'm going to try and make The Age of Brass and Steam kerchief. Don't you think it will work nicely with the yarn!? It will be my first shawl like project and the lovely ladies at my Monday night knitting group are going to help me out in getting started. I can't wait!

Well, that's it for me! Be sure to share you FOs!



Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 45


Hi everyone! I hope you're having a great week. My week is okay...busy. As usual, I'm watching my nieces today, so won't be able to get to everyone's posts until later tonight or Thursday. This is going to be a short post, as I'm super tired only getting a few hours of sleep.





I've worked some on these socks. I'm love love loving the pattern! I think the colors are awesome, too. This is being knit in Knit Picks Felici Caprica.




As you can see, I haven't worked much on these. I'm working on the chart now though, so I have to actually concentrate. Remember, this is a test pattern, so no Ravelry page yet for it that I know of. I'm excited to see it grow. :) I'll have to figure out how to photograph it when it's worth seeing it. This orange is so bright it's impossible to get a picture of it.




This is new for WIPW! I'm working on my first cowl and using Malabrigo for the first time. It's the Pedestrian Crossing Cowl. Alea and I decided to have a little KAL together. It's a fun knit which is nice, but since it's just two rows until the end, it may get a little boring. :) I love love love Malabrigo. I have two skeins of this, and the cowl will only take one, so I think I'll probably make a hat or gloves when it gets closer to winter with the other skein.


For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

Please remember to use the new link to your post from this week, overriding the one that Mr. Linky saves from the previous. Thanks!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Candy Skein- New Lace Weight in Stock!

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great weekend. We had fun in all of our adventures (despite not being able to go to the beach due to the weather), but the excitement also equals being tired the rest of the week. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the yarn store on Sunday before they closed, but hope to go next months when we're back in that area. Instead, I bring you new Candy Skein lace weight! Oh okay, yes, I would have shown you this even if I had gone to the yarn store. A few new colors to Candy Skein, and new colors to the lace category. Enjoy!

EDIT: Thanks to my Monday night knitting group, all new skeins are sold out! Don't forget, I do custom orders, so if you see a color you love, I can dye on demand. I also still have a skein of lace weight in Mai Tai in the shop, and a few of the fingering weight colorways from last week!




Colorway: Blue Raspberry
Fiber content:
100% Merino Wool
Weight:
Lace Weight
Yardage:
880 yards
Unit Weight:
100 grams
Care:
Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $18
Quantity Available: 0
SOLD







Colorway: Cranberry
Fiber content:
100% Merino Wool
Weight:
Lace Weight
Yardage:
880 yards
Unit Weight:
100 grams
Care:
Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $18
Quantity Available: 0
SOLD








Colorway: Party Punch
Fiber content:
100% Merino Wool
Weight:
Lace Weight
Yardage:
880 yards
Unit Weight:
100 grams
Care:
Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $18
Quantity Available: 0
SOLD






Colorway: Mulberry
Fiber content:
100% Merino Wool
Weight:
Lace Weight
Yardage:
880 yards
Unit Weight:
100 grams
Care:
Hand wash/Dry Flat

Price: $18
Quantity Available: 0
SOLD